The 2001 National Conference on African Americans and AIDS
will take place February 19-20, 2001 at the Washington D.C.
Renaissance Hotel, 999 9th Street NW, Washington D.C.. Due
to the late notice this year, registrations will be
accepted at the door, and conference organizers are
determined that no one will be turned away.

This conference comes shortly after news of disastrous
rates of HIV infection among gay African Americans and
other minorities. An epidemiological study in New York City
found HIV infection rate now more than ten times as high
among African Americans than among whites (33% vs. 2%) in
gay men age 23-29. The researchers found no behavioral risk
factor which could explain the difference. The study, by L.
Torian and others, will be presented at the Retroviruses
conference in early February; a report appeared February 24
in New York Newsday.

Program of February 19-20 Conference

The current program includes:

Sandra L. Thurman: Africa Update

Special guest speaker: topic to be announced

Eric P. Goosby, M.D.: A Bridge to Common Experiences

Elaine M. Daniels, M.D., Ph.D.: The Epidemiology of HIV
in the United States

John G. Bartlett, M.D. and Eric P. Goosby, M.D.: The
Kaiser Family Foundation/U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Treatment Guidelines [new guidelines, to be
released in early February].

Registration

Registration: There is no fee to register, and the
registration desk will remain open through the conference.
It is best to register early, by contacting Stacey Everett
at Firehouse Event Planning, phone 609-936-1966, fax 609-
936-0479.

Continuing education credit: 16 hours Category One, no fee.

Funding

This program is funded through unrestricted educational
grants provided by:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

GlaxoSmithKline

The Body.com

The U.S Health Resources Services Administration HIV/AIDS
Bureau

Serono Laboratories, Inc.

OraSure Technologies, Inc.

Roche

Comment

At a time of growing problems around the pharmaceutical
industry and its relationship to individual and public
health goals, the program stands out as a clear success.
For the first two years it was funded entirely by Bristol-Myers Squibb; this year funding is from multiple sources.

Yes, the conference serves a marketing purpose, since more
attention on this issue will probably result in more
African Americans with HIV receiving medical care -- and
some of them will use the sponsors' high-profit
antiretrovirals. But here the corporate purpose is
consistent with the public goal of getting people with HIV
into medical care, so that they and their doctors can make
informed decisions about what treatment, if any, to begin.
In this case, public and commercial goals coincide.

ISSN # 1052-4207

Copyright 2001 by John S. James. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used.

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